HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-05-21, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015. PAGE 19.
Nahrgang returns to Blyth for Royal Flush 3
For the third time, Royal Flush
Improv is set to take to the Blyth
Memorial Hall stage and
comedian/event headliner Mike
‘Nug’ Nahrgang couldn’t be happier.
Nahrgang, who spend his
formative years in Clinton,
organized the original improv night
which was held on a snowy
November evening in 2013 and,
since then, the event has become one
to which he and his fellow actors
look forward.
“It’s pretty fun doing a show in
Blyth,” he said in an interview with
The Citizen.“We come up once a
year, but it’s different every time. We
know the structure of the show, and
it changes slightly, but we don’t
know what’s going to be in the show.
Really, it’s all dependent on the
suggestions we get from the
audience, so it’s always different.
“It also means that if the show is
no good, it’s the audience’s
suggestions that ruined it,” he said
with a laugh.
This year, the Wild Card Players,
the troupe that will be performing
the show, features Nahrgang and
Ashley Comeau, who have both
been involved before, as well as
newcomers Allison Price, Nigel
Downer, Liz Johnston, Allison Price
and Connor Thompson.
Comeau, Price and Downer are all
recent alumni of the main stage of
The Second City, a popular comedy
theatre in Toronto.
Johnston is a “big name at the Bad
Dog Theatre in Toronto” according
to Nahrgang, and he said he is
excited to take to the stage with her.
Thompson, according to
Nahrgang, has roots in Owen Sound
and Hanover, so he’s familiar with
the area.
Aside from Thompson and
Comeau, the rest of the players are
going to be new to the area, which
suits Nahrgang just fine.
“I like coming back because I get
to bring a whole new group of
people from Toronto to Blyth,” he
said. “Most of them have never been
out that way. They may have been to
Grand Bend, but a lot of them don’t
know about anything north of
Clinton. Some of them are aware of
the Blyth Festival, but they haven’t
been there, so I get to take them to a
theatre where we can do something
like this improv night.”
Nahrgang himself has had success
with stage, television, film and
commercials including working with
The Second City’s national touring
company, the movie Men With
Brooms and on stage as Harry in two
runs of Night of the Living Dead
Live as well as starring in a recent
run of Cannibal! The Musical.
Chris New, the music director for
the show, and Mark Andrada, the
stage manager, are also excited to be
coming according to Nahrgang. The
three look forward to this event
every year as a chance to get away
from the city and enjoy life in rural
Huron County.
While most people are familiar
with stand-up comedy, Nahrgang
said that improv, especially at local
venues, isn’t explored often,
venturing that the show may have
been the first of its kind at Memorial
Hall.
“It’s great because it’s a different
show every time you go,” he said.
“We try to change up the format. We
have music and improvise some
songs, improvise some scenes and
get a few volunteers – or victims –
up on stage. It’s a really good time.”
Nahrgang has a pretty good grasp
of what people in the area might find
funny because the original Royal
Flush Improv was performed with
Mandy Sellers, a Bluevale native
who went to Brussels Public
School and F.E. Madill Secondary
School.
Nahrgang himself went to school
in Clinton from Grade 5 until he
graduated from Central Huron
Secondary School. He made his
initial contact for the show with
Blyth Festival General Manager
Deb Sholdice, who was instrumental
in getting Nahrgang and the
players to the Memorial Hall
stage, when he worked for her in
Clinton.
“Deb used to manage the New
Orleans Pizza in Clinton where I
worked while I was in high school,”
he said. “She called me up, back
before the first night, and I brought a
bunch of people up in the middle of
a blizzard to do the show.”
Despite the blizzard, the show was
well received and resulted in another
show last year, this time featuring
Canadian comedic heavy-hitter and
improv comedy royalty Colin
Mochrie and his wife Debra
McGrath.
Nahrgang said that people don’t
need to worry about being on
stage either since improv is a bit
different from stand-up as far
as interactivity goes.
“In stand-up, someone will get
pointed out and have jokes made
about them,” he said. “With improv,
we’ll get someone up on stage and
then look stupid for them.”
Another key point of the comedy
of the show, according to Nahrgang,
is that the audience and the players
are discovering, at the same time, its
comedic aspects.
“When everything is made-up,
you never know what’s going to
happen,” he said. “We’ll know
something is funny when we all start
laugh.
“There’s also an intermission, so if
you’re not enjoying the show, you
can drink it away,” he said
laughing.
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Improv
Nug Nahrgang is the brains and some of the talent behind
the Royal Flush Improv show, being featured for the third
year straight by the Blyth Festival at Blyth Memorial Hall.
The show is never the same twice, according to Nahrgang,
because it’s based primarily on audience involvement.
(Photo submitted)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
The Spirit
encourages
says Dow
Continued from page 12
of the stewardess, the lady finished
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That’s similar to how the Holy
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admonishes us with divine truth,
encourages us, and restores hope in
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